Pat has advised and represented numerous clients in contract negotiations involving power plants, waste water treatment facilities, waste incineration facilities, and other heavy industrial and large commercial projects. He has also represented sureties in connection with performance and payment bond claims, including takeover agreements and financing arrangements as well as subrogation and indemnification matters. His particular areas of specialty include:

• Negotiate and draft construction contracts, concession agreements, and joint ventures  
• Negotiate and draft surety takeover agreements and related indemnity and security arrangements  
• Negotiate and draft warranties, guaranties and other risk allocation documents  
• Provide advice with respect to insurance law, surety bonds and other risk management issues  
• Represent sureties in performance bond, payment bond, and fidelity/crime policy disputes 
• Represent contractors, owners and suppliers in construction defect disputes  
• Represent contractors, owners and suppliers in delay, disruption, and other economic loss disputes  
• Represent contractors and owners in differing site condition disputes  
• Advise with respect to design/build and construction management services  
• Represent sureties, insureds, and insurers with respect to insurance coverage disputes  
• Advise with respect to risk management strategies for indoor environmental exposures, such as mold, lead and formaldehyde
• Represent insurers and premium finance companies in coverage and financing disputes  
• Represent contractors, owners and suppliers in arbitrations and mediations  
• Represent design professionals in contract negotiations and dispute resolution matters  
• Represent industry participants in mold liability litigation

ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

• Holds LEED AP (new construction) certification from U.S. Green Building Council.
• Served as outside counsel to AIA Documents Committee in drafting Single Purpose Entity family of IPD documents. Currently involved in AIA effort to draft the Multi-Party family of IPD documents.
• Served as adviser for the American Law Institute's Restatement on Suretyship and Guaranty. The American Law Institute in 1996 chose 16 lawyers from private practice and academia to act as advisers in the preparation of the Restatement Third Suretyship and Guaranty.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE

• Member of American Arbitration Association Construction Industry Panel 
• Arbitrator in numerous construction disputes 
• Mediator in numerous two-party and multi-party construction disputes

SELECTED REPORTED TRANSACTIONS

• 1325 North Van Buren, LLC v. T-3 Group, Ltd., 701 N.W.2d 13 (Wis. Ct. App. 2005) (successfully argued for insurance coverage under construction manager's professional liability policy)
• Auto-Owners v. NewMech Companies, Inc., 678 N.W.2d 477 (Minn. Ct. App. 2004), (successfully obtained coverage under a CGL policy for mold and water damage to a condominium project) 
• Ray & Sons Masonry Contractors, Inc. v. U.S.F.& G. Co., 114 S.W.3d 189 (Ark. 2003) (upholding $1.5 million jury verdict in favor of client)
• U.S.F.& G. Co. v. Continental Cas. Co., 353 Ark. 834, 120 S.W.3d 556 (Ark. 2003) (agreeing with client's position that commercial general liability policy applied to indemnity judgment due to the "insured contact" exception to the contractual liability exclusion) 
• Crane Const. Co. v. Klaus Masonry, 71 F. Supp. 2d 1125 (D. Kan. 1999) (opinion addressed proof requirements of indemnity action; this matter ultimately resulted in a jury verdict of several hundred thousand dollars against a roofing subcontractor in favor of surety client)
• U.S.F.& G. Co. v. A&A Masonry, Inc., 991 S.W.2d 111 (Ark. 1999) (this decision reversed a trial court's ruling dismissing surety's indemnity action for losses incurred due to defective construction: successfully arguing for the reinstatement of client's indemnity claim)
• O'Shaughnessy v. Smuckler Corporation, 543 N.W.2d 99 (Minn. Ct. App. 1996) (successfully argued that contractor/insured had coverage under 1986 CGL policy for subcontractors' defective work)
• MNVA Railroad, Inc. v. John Alden Life Ins. Co., 507 N.W.2d 15 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993) (represented group health insurer in ERISA preemption matter)
• Maxa v. John Alden Life Ins. Co., 972 F.2d 980 (8th Cir. 1992) (successfully represented group health insurer in dispute over coverage based upon policy language)  
• Emison v. J. Paul Stearns Co., 488 N.W.2d 336 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992) (homeowner client successfully prevailed on mechanic's lien issue; this matter was eventually arbitrated and client successfully resisted contractor's claim of more than $500,000.00 when arbitrators issued an award of $12,000.00 in favor of contractor)  
• Lumberman's Underwriting Alliance v. Tifco, Inc., 465 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991) (premium-financing company litigation)  
• Carl Bolander & Sons Co. v. City of Minneapolis, 451 N.W.2d 204 (Minn. 1990) (after trial, successfully argued on behalf of contractor that low bidder's bid was non-responsive due to bid's failure to comply with the invitation requirements concerning women and minority-owened business enterprise participation)  
• Subsurfco, Inc. v. Osceola Rural Water System, Inc., 914 F.2d 1072 (8th Cir. 1990) (final appellate decision in matter where firm's surety client and contractor successfully resisted owner's breach of contract claim of $6 million based upon allegations of poor workmanship and obtained an arbitration award against owner for retainage in excess of $300,000)  
• Goette v. Press Bar and Cafe, Inc. 413 N.W.2d 854 (Minn. 1987) (final appeal rejecting owner's claims of defective design against architect; discovery established that contractor had failed to follow architect's design and therefore firm's client, the architect, was absolved of responsibility for personal injuries and economic loss resulting from structural failure)  
• Sheehan v. Morris Irrigation, 410 N.W.2d 569 (S.D. 1987) (appeal of summary judgment granted in favor of firm's surety client; case ultimately settled under circumstances where surety made no payment and recovered significant portion of litigation costs even though the contractor/principal was insolvent)  
• Farmer's Union Central Exchange v. Reliance Insurance Co., 626 F. Supp. 583 (D.N.D. 1985) and 675 F. Supp. 1534 (D.N.D. 1987) (obtained defense verdict on two suppliers' payment bond claims and claims for bad faith against surety client)

EXPERT WITNESS SERVICES

• Served as expert witness on insurance coverage issues in Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co., 189 F. Supp. 2d 1212 (D.Kan. 2002) (client successfully recovered under contractor's CGL policy in dispute involving defective masonry construction)

Honors

Professional Associations

• American College of Construction Lawyers, fellow
• BIMForum Legal Subforumm, chair
• American Bar Association Fidelity and Surety Law Committee Law Division, former co-chair
• American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry, Division 7—Bonds, Liens & Insurance, former chair
• Under Construction (American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry newsletter), past editor

Clerkships

Presentations

• Insurance Update and Coverage for Defective Work
  Arizona State Bar Convention (2010)
• Legal Considerations In Sustainable Design And Construction, Arizona State Bar Convention (2010)
• What Every Contractor Should Know About Obtaining And Securing Its "Right To Know" Owners' Financial Arrangements For Construction Projects
  AGC's 91st Annual Convention (2010)
• Bankruptcy and the Completing Surety
  Co-presenter, Pearlman Conference (2009)
• The Basics of OCIPs and CCIPs
  Co-presenter, Lorman Education Services webinar (2009, 2010)
• Comparison of ConsensusDOCS 300 and AIA IPD Documents
  La Quinta, California, AGC Private/Public Industry Advisory Council (2009)
• Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery
  San Diego, AGC Annual Convention (2009)
• Half-Day Seminar on Insurance Issues
  Client site (2009)
• Building Information Modeling
  AISC/ACCL BIM Conference (2009)
• Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery
  Boston Society of Architects (2009)
• Risks in Construction
  New York City, Practising Law Institute (2009)
• Time-Element Coverages
  ABA/TIPS Annual Meeting (2008)
• Surety's Right to Indemnity
  Kansas City, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee Spring Meeting (2008)
• Building Information Modeling
  UK Society of Construction (2008)
• Integrated Project Delivery
  National telephone conference, Collaborative Studies Workshop (2008)
• Building Information Modeling
  University of Minnesota School of Architecture (2008)
• Program Moderator
  Nashville, American Institute of Steel Constructors Annual BIM Conference (2008)
• Project Delivery Methods and New AIA Documents
  New York City, Practising Law Institute (2008)
• Building Information Modeling
  San Antonio, American College of Construction Lawyers 18th Annual Meeting (2008)
• Building Information Modeling
  Minneapolis, Institute of Military Engineers (presented in conjunction with Mortenson Construction representatives) (2008)
• Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery
  Joint Engineer Training Conference presented by Society of American Military Engineers (2008)
• Aging Infrastructure
  Webinar, Lorman Education Services webinar (2008)
• Aging Infrastructure
  New York City, ABA Annual Meeting (2008)
• Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery London, England, Society of Construction Law (2008)
• Co-chair, ABA Forum/FSLC Meeting
  New York City, ABA Forum/FSLC Mid-Winter Meeting (2007)
• Building Information Modeling
  AIA Minnesota Annual Meeting (2007)
• Sustainable Design and Global Warming
  Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel (2007)
• Program Chair
  Sanibel Island, Florida, 17th Annual Meeting of the American College of Construction Lawyers (2006)
• Contractor Claims: Prevention and Effective Resolution
  Contract Solutions Group (2006)
• Change Orders in Minnesota
  Lorman Education Services (2006)
• Construction Lien Law in Minnesota
  Lorman Education Services (2006)
• Numerous additional speeches given on a variety of topics throughout the U.S. in the past 20 years

Legal Updates

• Bruner & O'Connor on Construction Law
  West Publishing Company (eight-volume treatise, addressing all major areas of construction law)(Updated annually since 2002) 
• Construction Insurance:  A Guide for Attorneys and Other Professionals
  American Bar Association (2011)
• Bankruptcy and the Completing Surety
  Co-author, white paper (2009)
• Integrated Project Delivery: Collaboration Through New Contract Forms
  Co-author, J. ACCL (2009)
• Productivity and Innovation in the Construction Industry: The Case for Building Information Modeling
  J. ACCL 1:1 (2007)
• Contract Issues in the Use of Construction Building Information Modeling
  Co-author, ICLR V. 25, Pt. 3, pp. 262-272 (2008)
• The American Experience With Exterior Insulation and Finish systems or Synthetic Stucco Cladding Systems
  ICLR V. 23, Pt. 3, pp. 292-305 (2006)
• The Surety's Rights of Restitution and Subrogation—Setoff Principles Under the Restatement of the Law Third, Suretyship and Guaranty
  The Restatement of Suretyship and Guaranty: A Translation for the Practitioner - American Bar Association, Tort & Insurance Practice Section (2005)
• ERISA Bond Claims Over Employer Stock Losses: The Landscape in a Post-Enron World
  Co-author, The Fidelity Law Journal (2004)
• CGL/Builder's Risk Monograph (editor)
  American Bar Association (2004)
• Allocating Risks of Terrorism and Pandemic Pestilence: Force Majeure for an Unfriendly World
  The Construction Lawyer (2003)
• Comparing Project Delivery Systems
  Practicing Law Institute (2003)
• Delay, Disruption and Inefficiency Claims
  Practicing Law Institute (2003)
• Terrorism Risks
  Second Global Project Superconference (London 2003)
• Lender Liability in Construction Financing
  West, Construction Briefings (2003)
• The Construction Briefings Year-End Review
  Federal Publications (1983-2003)
• Risk Management for Design-Build Contracting
  Lorman Education Systems (2002)
• The Rights and Responsibilities of Design Professionals—Part I & Part II
  Federal Publications—April & May, Construction Briefings (2002)
• Insurance Products for the Construction Industry
  Federal Publications, Construction Briefings (2001)
• Curtain Wall Failures
  The Construction Lawyer (2000)